Junga

Most recent activity

• Please report dangerous drivers to the police - Roadsafe. Report to plod, not just whinge here.

  in General • 13 years, 9 months

  

  I was cycling on a long straight road last night when a single-decker bus flew past me at speed and fairly close. A black unmarked car driving the other way wasn't happy about how much space the bus had left it. The driver tooted his horn in anger at the bus for a few seconds as it went past.

  I thought that was the end of it. Normally it would be.

  A few seconds later the car came screaming past me (at a safe distance) and tailed the bus until it stopped again.

  Three police officers in full combat gear and anti-stab vests jumped out and charged to the front of the bus. One of them turned around as I caught up to the scene and asked if I was okay.

  The bus driver looked absolutely terrified as they forced themselves onto the bus and started shouting about safe distances for cyclists.

  One of the officers told me that they're normally on their bikes themselves, and tired of seeing drivers not giving cyclists enough room. They let the bus driver go, but this morning I watched the same bus company wait behind a cyclist on a road bike until it was safe to overtake. I wonder if the bus driver told his workmates about it when he got back to the depot.

  I realise this will probably never happen again, but the sense of justice was brilliant. We need more cycling police officers - officers who understand the dangers of cycling, and realise that near-misses still indicate dangerous driving.

  That bus driver will think twice before he overtakes a cyclist again, at least for a little while.

• Locks that work

  in Bikes & Bits • 13 years, 10 months

  

  Does anyone know how heavy the 19mm Motrax Disclock Large is?

  It must be over 3kgs, right?

• Please report dangerous drivers to the police - Roadsafe. Report to plod, not just whinge here.

  in General • 13 years, 10 months

  

  Helmet cameras are proving really useful in defending yourself against angry drivers:

  http://menmedia.co.uk/news/crime/s/1410153_video_cyclist_captures_road_rage_attack_on_helmet_camera

  Good on the lad for staying calm and reporting the driver to the police.

• What to do if your bike is stolen

  in General • 13 years, 10 months

  

  Another way to look for your stolen bike online is to set up a Google Alert with the key phrases your bike might be sold under.

  So, if you've lost a green fixed-gear Raleigh with chrome handlebars, you might set up Google Alerts for:

  Green + Raleigh + fixed gear

  Green + fixed gear + chrome

  Raleigh + fixed gear + chrome handlebars

  It's worth creating two or three Alerts, including one quite generic, because the thief might not know the correct terms, or he might deliberately write vague descriptions.

  Google Alerts will ping all the links to your email, you just need to sort through them.

  If your bike is individual enough, you've set the right Alert up, and the thief tries to sell it online (even after months), Google will find it.

  It's not fool-proof, but it'll save more time than trawling through all the sites one by one. It also helps if you're outside London and don't have Bikeshd.co.uk to look through (which is a brilliant site).

  Hope this helps - if it's old advice then please ignore it. I only found this site (and the "Locks that work" thread) after I had my bike stolen. It was a generic Black Subway Carrera from Halfords, so although I found lots of matches, it's been impossible to work out if any were my bike.

  Still, I like my new cheap second-hand bike more.